Securing the Homeland -- Extreme Vetting Part 3

On a Winning Streak with Another Great Pick

Consistency in performance is what distinguishes a great businessman or a great political leader from mediocre ones. 

Here we are in part 3 of extreme vetting and the pattern is consistent.  You be the judge of performance.

28 March AP reported.

This week, the AP revealed Manafort's secret work for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago. Manafort did not dispute working for Oleg Deripaska but said he had represented him only in personal and business matters. He called the focus on him a "smear campaign," and said he was ready to defend his work if investigators wish to learn more about it.

The White House said Trump had not been aware of Manafort's work on behalf of Deripaska, a close Putin ally with whom Manafort, who is 67, eventually signed a $10 million annual contract beginning in 2006. "The president was not aware of Paul's clients from the last decade," said spokesman Sean Spicer. "What else don't we know? I mean, where he went to school, what grades he got, who he played with in the sandbox?"

AA's head is spinning as promised by Candidate Trump. 

Does this mean that extreme vetting is extreme only in the past five years?  Or is it a shorter period?  And I suppose there's was no  reason to ask Paul about his work in the electoral campaign of the pro-Russian candidate for President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.  Nor about the allegations raised by the current Kiev government against Mr.Manafort.  A curious lack of curiosity.

Extreme Vetting 24/7

 Sleep well, citizens, the Homeland is secure.

Securing the Homeland: Extreme Vetting Part 2

Welcoming Mr. Giuliani to Team Trump

President Trump has correctly noted the importance of extreme vetting to protect the Homeland.

One needs to make sure that those who enter the Homeland or who serve it are not dangerous individuals or those who do not have the best interest of the United States at heart.

On March 27, the NY Times carried a disturbing report on Reza Zarrab which just goes to prove the wisdom of President Trump's statement about extreme vetting.  Zarrab has been charged with facilitating millions of dollars in illicit transactions on behalf of Iran and other sanctioned entities through the use of front companies and false documentation.  He's currently facing trial in the United States. 

Reza Zarrab, a prominent Turkish gold trader who has been jailed in New York on charges of violating the United States sanctions on Iran, has added Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, to his legal team, adding intrigue to a case that has been steeped in international politicking between Turkey and the United States.

Just last month, Mr. Giuliani and another prominent lawyer, Michael B. Mukasey, traveled to meet with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of their efforts on behalf of Mr. Zarrab, according to a person briefed on the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the trip.

With vetting like this, the nation is clearly in good hands.  I suppose

Practical Application of Extreme Vetting to Secure the Homeland

Case in "Point"

As you no doubt recall Candidate Trump called for "extreme, extreme vetting" of immigrants to secure the Homeland.  While this call was focused on immigrants from certain Muslim majority countries, it would seem logical to expect that similar vetting would be applied to those in senior positions in the incoming Administration.  Like staffers with top secret security clearances allowing them access to intelligence reports, meetings of the National Security Council, etc.

greatagain.gov website  18 November 2016

“I am pleased that Lieutenant General Michael Flynn will be by my side as we work to defeat radical Islamic terrorism, navigate geopolitical challenges and keep Americans safe at home and abroad,” said President-elect Trump. “General Flynn is one of the country’s foremost experts on military and intelligence matters and he will be an invaluable asset to me and my administration.”

Washington Post  14 February 2017

Michael Flynn, the national security adviser to President Trump, resigned late Monday over revelations about his potentially illegal contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States, and his misleading statements about the matter to senior Trump administration officials.

Business Insider   10 March 2017

President Donald Trump was not aware that his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was being paid to lobby for Turkish interests in the months leading up the US election, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday.

But Rep. Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent Pence a letter on November 18 requesting more information about the potential conflicts of interest posed by Flynn's lobbying work.
Cummings sent the letter four days after both the Daily Caller and Politico reported that Flynn's consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, Inc., had been hired to lobby for Turkish interests.

rightscoop website 18 November. 

But Flynn was compensated by the Flynn Intel Group, where he serves as a principal and which has registered as a lobbying firm for a Dutch company owned by a Turkish businessman with close ties to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The relationship is more than professional, apparently. Flynn has called for the extradition to Turkey of the cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom he called a “shady Islamic mullah” who lives in exile in the Poconos and on whom Erdogan has blamed a failed July coup attempt (among a host of other sins).

Like The Daily Caller, RS is considered a "conservative" forum.  So both right and left and those in between called this back in November.

Right out in the open. 

Yet, the WH missed it  That's "extreme vetting" with both a capital "E" and "V"!